Donny's comeback

The direct labour force had won the council's maintenance contract seven times by competitive tender, but the tradespeople and the housing department regarded each other with suspicion. The introduction of best value in 1997 did little to resolve the conflict.

So when the inspectors arrived, they found a bureaucratic battlefield where priorities such as future planning, focusing on customers and dealing with the area's large number of empty properties had fallen by the wayside. "It was reasonable criticism," says Gary Allen, head of housing services.

Now, the council has set itself an ambitious target: to gain not just one but two stars, to give it a chance to get extra arm's-length management funding if it chooses to set up an ALMO. Inspectors returned last week and, on 30 October, the team will find out whether the work they have put in to revamp the service has paid off.

The first thing to change was the unhelpful culture, says Allen: "I got all the managers together from both departments and said, 'If I hear anyone say 'it's not my fault', they'll personally be in my office.' I think I got the message over." The warring parties buried the hatchet, and decided to rebuild their relationship along partnering principles in preparation for dealing with external contractors. The council also restructured the housing department, bringing the management and labour divisions together.

Allen was charged with drawing up a 44-point improvement plan with senior managers from across the service, aided by consultants from the not-for-profit Housing Quality Network. A vital part of this was weekly meetings between staff, tenants, trade unions and councillors, which have helped overcome petty rivalries. Allen says: "Being in local government, we tended to get bogged down in processes. Instead, with each decision, we asked what it would mean for the tenant. We deliberately didn't pick a solution off the shelf, so it took longer than necessary, but once it was in place, everyone was committed to it." Technical support and planning manager Dave Bell agrees. "We didn't just bring in an appointment system. We took the opportunity to review the process of repair ordering and slim it down."

Leave the past behind
In common with many British towns associated with traditional manufacturing and coal mining, Doncaster has been in decline for some time. The council's low point was the "Donnygate" scandal of 1997, where a high-profile police investigation found local government corruption.

It is determined to leave these problems behind and focus on regeneration. Repairs play a crucial role: Doncaster falls within the South Yorkshire market renewal pathfinder and, against a backdrop of deprivation and low demand, failure to deal with empty properties is a serious problem. Indeed, it was a stalemate over voids that made the inspectors doubt Doncaster's potential for improvement in 2002. Empty properties management had been rated "poor" in December 2001 but, by the time of the repairs inspection nine months later, inspectors were dismayed that only four out of 13 projects had been completed. Turnaround time for voids had slipped to a bottom-quartile 67 days, despite the creation of six local monitoring groups of residents and councillors.

Now, the council appears to have taken on the problem. Local teams still work to get empties back into service, and have reduced turnaround time to 25 days. "We've stopped trying to do things that were a waste of our resources, like trying to let properties that we don't have customers for," explains Allen. "Prior to inspection, we did our best to let all stock and that certainly didn't do our stats any good. Now, if there are no customers after six weeks we look for alternative solutions such as demolition or selling to first-time buyers."

Voids and responsive repair services for the council's 26,000 properties have also been integrated into a 430-strong area management team structure. Only the capital works section of the former direct labour organisation – responsible for bringing 8152 homes up to the decency standard – has remained separate. It will be benchmarked against external contractors.

Seeking partners
Doncaster has tested open-book accounting with Bramall Construction and has set up temporary partnerships with several contractors found through its membership of the Northern Housing Consortium. But it is seeking two partners with whom to form longer-lasting relationships and has so far received 40 expressions of interest and 19 pre-qualifying questionnaires. One of these two arrangements will yield a survey of the whole of Doncaster's stock – an important step in proving to inspectors that the council has begun a long-term plan for investment.

Bell anticipates that collaborating with trusted contractors will mean better use of the council's £32m repairs budget and fewer unpleasant surprises. "They get a much fuller understanding of our objectives and can draw our attention to concerns about capacity. Then we can develop a strategy together," he says. "A lot of resources are wasted on renewals and tedious tendering arrangements. We're looking for ways to build in stability."

The new spirit of trust between labour and management is also key to achieving the commission's 10% target on pre-inspections. The council used to do three times this number, but now tradespeople diagnose many jobs themselves.

Full and frank exchanges with union reps are often a feature of repairs service reforms, but Bell says involving them from the start has smoothed the way. "We were completely open with the trade union that we want an efficient DLO that has a long-term future.

The only way we can deliver that is if we move the DLO into the modern era." Now the union is working with the council to improve productivity and monitor sick leave.

Noticing improvements
Despite its damning conclusion, the 2002 inspection report did single out areas for praise. The Audit Commission was impressed with Doncaster's 75 tenants' associations and clubs. Its strength in tenant participation is shown by the horrified reaction of the repairs service's customers to the inspectors' findings. "It was heartbreaking," says Lyn Ralf, who attends the team's weekly meetings. "That isn't how we see Doncaster. And the fact that they thought we had low expectations was infuriating and insulting."

Ralf has done impromptu tenant surveys and they have revealed an improvement in standards since the inspection. There is a new appointment system with a single number to call and the service presents a friendlier face to tenants. When Ralf called to book a repair for one elderly woman, council staff asked whether she would prefer an afternoon appointment to leave time for carers' visits in the morning, and offered to specify that the tradesman should wait longer than usual for the door to be answered. "I thought that was lovely," she says.

The inspectors have left, but Doncaster's repairs team isn't resting on its laurels: maintaining the new way of working is an ongoing task. "We're aiming for continuous improvement," says Ralf. "There have been low times but they're behind us."

Councillor Chris Mills, cabinet member for homes and housing, believes the new spirit of togetherness is here to stay: "What really impressed me was the way everyone responded. We decided that as we had common ownership of the problem, we all had ownership of the solution." Allen agrees. "There's been an ethic of loyalty within the council, which really helped – and I haven't heard anyone say 'it's not my fault'."